Custom Tree Wallet

I recently received this email:

Nani, I was checking out your Victorious Vixen page, and I was hoping you could make a wallet for my wife for her birthday.  I was hoping to have a tree themed wallet. I attached some pictures of some fall trees to give you some ideas. Her name is Violet and she loves the outdoors and most of the fall colors.

Of course I was up for the challenge!  =)

So here are the pictures he sent me, along with some fabric I picked out especially for this project.

I printed the trees out on fabric using my inkjet printer & special paper backed fabric sheets that I picked up at my local JoAnn's.  I framed the trees with a log cabin type block, mixing & matching fabric strips as I saw fit.  I like to add a lot of contrast & texture into my work, so along with these prints, I added brown corduroy & a dotted minky to the mix. 

Here is the pieced top all sewn together & backed with a fleece like interfacing.  I like a lot of loft, so the thicker the better!

loft

/lɔft, lɒft/  [lawft, loft]– noun  

10.  the thickness of a fabric or of insulation used in a garment, as a down-filled jacket.

Next was my favorite part...the free motion stitching.  Unlike an embroidery machine, you move the fabric around in a doodle-like fashion, sketching with thread instead of a pen.  In order to do this on a regular sewing machine, you must have a darning foot.  On my machine, it comes off and on with the screw on the left side.  Another thing, you must be able to "drop your feed dogs."  Those are the little teeth like things under the needle plate that grab the fabric and "pull" it into the sewing area.  Since you'll be the one moving the fabric, you don't want these up and active!

When it comes to free motion, I often follow the flow of the fabric...

and to keep things tidy, I pull the loose threads to the back & tie them up!

Here is some free motion from the front...

and this is the "behind the scenes" look!  There is a lot of stitching goin' on here. =)

I mark my signature "V" on the inside with a blue water soluble pencil & stitch my little heart out!

Everything is ready...time to sew them together!

And she's all done, made with attention to detail & lots of love!

Since this was a birthday present, I offered to include a matching hand made card.  I used some fun animal print ribbon & a picture of one of the trees...add stitching & wha-lah, it's done!

As usual, I used recycled paper packaging & tied strips of fabric to the front and added a stamped sentiment to the tag.

Happy Birthday Violet!  

I hope you are enjoying your custom wallet...I had a lot of fun making it.